Stand Up for Your Rights at School

School should be a safe, affirming place to learn and work for all students and staff. Federal civil rights laws protect students, staff, and faculty from discrimination at any institution that receives federal funds.

Discrimination can include:

• A single significant incident, such as sexual harassment
• A pattern of behavior, such as a teacher who intentionally misgenders or deadnames a student
• Institutional discrimination, such as a school that has a policy of censoring books with LGBTQ+ characters or themes of racial justice
• A failure to act, such as a school that fails to address verbal and physical bullying of transgender students
• Any combination of words and actions that creates a ‘hostile educational environment’ that makes it difficult or impossible for students or staff to work and learn at school.

Who can file a civil rights complaint?

If you or someone you know has experienced discrimination, you can file a complaint with the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights provided that the discrimination was:

• based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, or ancestry; sex or gender, including gender identity and transgender status; disability; or age;

• within the past 180 days;
• at an institution receiving federal funds from the U.S. Dept of Education.

Federal civil rights laws protect everyone in the school community: not just students, but also school staff and faculty. A complaint can be filed by anyone with knowledge of the discrimination. So a student can file their own; a student group can file one collectively; parents or guardians can file on behalf of their child; a teacher or staff member can file; a community organization can file on behalf of the students they serve.

Why file a civil rights complaint?

Civil rights complaints are the most accessible and democratic way to challenge a discriminatory law or policy. They can also be challenged in the courts, but that takes a lawyer. You could also use elections to elect a school board or a legislature that will repeal the discrimination. However, a civil rights complaint lets one person or a group file a challenge directly, and for free, and the Office of Civil Rights takes care of both the lawyers and the investigation.